Cheng teng - cooling, refreshing dessert drink

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Cheng teng is a uniquely sweet local dessert or comfort drink that has been around for generations. This icy cold dessert drinks are popular especially given our local weather that are hot and humid. You can also have your cheng teng (also spelled as cheng tng) warm or hot.

cheng teng
Bedok Corner cheng-teng
Cheng teng can be served either hot or cold. It is a potpourri of ingredients that include longan, ginko nuts, lily bulbs, white fungus, red dates, lianzi, barley, etc. Cold cheng teng is added with shaved ice. It is a sweet ‘cooling’ tasting dessert, like most desserts here.

Cheng teng is believed to be able to get rid of heatiness in the hot and humid Singapore weather due to the tonic effect of some of the ingredients, which are herbal in nature. Some ingredients are used as part of traditional Chinese medicine, which have been used for centuries. But with so many ingredients in a bowl, cheng teng tastes very refreshing and sweet instead of herbal-ish. The hot or warm version is even sweeter without the added shaved ice. The look of the dessert drink in a bowl may look soupy to some.

cheng teng
Icy cold Cheng teng
Cheng teng typically sells for between $1.80 to $2.00. You can find cheng teng at most hawker centres and food-courts desserts stall that usually will also sell other desserts like chendol and ice-kacang. Though there are stand-alone cheng teng stalls like the one in Ang Mo Kio Market and Food Centre at Block 726 Avenue 6 called Four Seasons Cheng Teng, and Yi Le Xiang at Bedok Food Centre also known as Bedok Corner.

At Yi Le Xiang, a bowl of cheng teng, hot or cold, costs $3 (it has since increased to $3.50), but their ingredients are generous. At many schools' canteens you can get cheng teng for a dollar or less.

dessert stall
Typical dessert stall
The photo here shows a typical dessert stall that also sell kuehs or local snacks. You can see some colourful kuehs at the top shelves, like soon kueh or steamed Chinese dumplings, onde-onde and pandan flavoured kuehs. Onde-onde is a coconut covered greenish glutinous round kueh filled with brownish gula melaka or palm sugar. So, at some desserts stalls you will find desserts and snacks.
Location: Singapore

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